These symptoms occur because the lack of insulin means that glucose stays in the blood and isn’t used as fuel for energy. Your body tries to reduce blood glucose levels by getting rid of the excess glucose in your urine.

It's very important for diabetes to be diagnosed as soon as possible, because it will get progressively worse if left untreated.

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Causes of type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition, which means your immune system attacks healthy body tissue by mistake. In this case, it attacks the cells in your pancreas.

Your damaged pancreas is then unable to produce insulin. So, glucose cannot be moved out of your bloodstream and into your cells.

Type 1 diabetes is often inherited (runs in families), so the autoimmune reaction may be genetic.

It's not known exactly what triggers the immune system to attack the pancreas, but some researchers have suggested it may be a viral infection.

If you have a close relative – such as a parent, brother or sister – with type 1 diabetes, you have about a 6% chance of also developing the condition. The risk for people who don't have a close relative with type 1 diabetes is just under 0.5%.

Treating type 1 diabetes

Diabetes can't be cured. Treatment aims to keep your blood glucose levels as normal as possible and control your symptoms, to prevent health problems developing later in life.

If you're diagnosed with diabetes, you'll be referred to a diabetes care team for specialist treatment and monitoring.

As your body can't produce insulin, you'll need regular insulin injections to keep your glucose levels normal. There are alternatives to insulin injections, but they're only suitable for a small number of patients.